Is it 'normal', once you have bought a tent...

[Whizzz]

....to use it a few times and then want another type ! We made the mistake of looking in a camping shop at the Sales & now I want a new tent - a bit smaller & easier to put up than the one we have. Although DH says Nooooooo

Yes, very.

Just ask lucycampcat LOL

We've amde an Active Decision to stick with ours this year, buts its the first time one ahs survived beyond a season

I want a Vango Orchy

How about this one then. Is it normal to keep all the gifts out of your Xmas crackers and think, 'Oh, that'll be useful for camping!' We had posh crackers I hasten to add, so we had a mini screw driver kit, manicure set & a keyring torch!

oh that's definitely normal maureen, we've done the same

I don't go camping but the mini screw driver kit is so handy. We didn't have any this year but got 6 tape measures and 3 photo frames

Yes, but I think I hold the record Bought a Vango Colorado 8-berth - used it...ahem...once for...ahem...two nights...decided I was definitely a sewn-in-groundsheet kinda gal, sold it on ebay, and bought a Outwell Monty 6. Dh was surprisingly understanding

And I love our Monty but whenever there's a "what do you think of this tent?" thread on MN I get all excited - I'm addicted to tent porn now.

I believe that some MN-ers have a 'second home' tent. Or even more.

It seems that tent aquisition is even more addictive tham buggy-buying

We have 3 tents now - and we have hardly been camping at all. I think its an addiction. About to buy our 4th ..... . You can't have too many though

Just as a matter of interest, halster, why 4 tents?

I would quite like one with a few improvements over the one we have...but 4?

Ah Soren, we acquired a frame tent last year, took it, put it up, ahted it then went home again LOL

Stillr eesident at the end of our bed - must get DH to shift it before the home birth!

Ours is big enough for a second home LOL, but we almost bought a weekend tent- glad we didn't with the baby and all, need the space

Well, since you asked ..... We have a three-man tent, too small for us now. So we bought a big 8 birth one that we have re-christened 'St Pauls' which is far too big and takes hours to put up. So we decided to buy a 'weekend' tent - smaller and quick-erect. Unfortunately my other half went a bit mad on e-bay and ended up buying one roughly the size of the NEC instead. So we are still after a weekend tent. Anyone want to buy a BIG tent? Sleeps 12, seats about 50 for a formal dinner?

I think you should be able to take the tents out of the shop to test drive before you buy ! Ours is lovely but also a bit St Pauls-ish & the thought of putting it up & down just for one or two nights use at a time is a bit

i just love tents and tent shops - i am mulling over folding campers now though to keep dh interested as he isnt really an outdoors boy and is saying ds too young to camp. I went through a stage 2 years ago where i bought about 12 tents on ebay in one season honestly just to erect them have a play and maybe go away in one and then sell it on.... our neighbours thought i was mad but it became my own personal challenge to put them up single handedly. It was a grand summer!!!

oy Peachy - you dissin my tent addiction?

Yep entirely natural, although we're now done with our tent buying for a few years - cos Lakey is just sublime and perfect in every way.....and expensive

I can't bear to part with any of our others though - yet!

anyone want to buy an Outwell Colorado 8 or a Vango Venture 500?

Lucycat, might be interested in the Vango Venture 500, can you comfortable fit a travel cot in the sleeping section? Can't have ds in with us as he is such a wriggler but I don't like that in our current tent he is at the other end in a seperate compartment!
Postage costs might be a big issue though...

yup. I have a few tents. Drives dh nuts. But if its all of us we need the 8 berth. Me n ds2 hiring a car rates the large 4 person but me n ds2 going by train rates the 2 small tents. Then if I cycle tour I need the lightweight touring tent.

Ah yes, we have the big tent for all of us, then one or maybe two (can't remember if ones gone on permanent loan) smaller ones for two or three people at a time.

I love looking at tents and camping gear too. And I love my trangia and collapsible washing bowl and wind up torch and and and....

I was lucky enough to borrow a tent the first year we went to all of the home education gatherings and camps (I had given away all of my camping gear years before as DH wasn't a camping sort of guy, then deregistered the children from school and found that our local home education group went to the camps-hey ho)
The following year I was given a very old trailer tent and that lasted for three more years and lots of camps.
Through all of the camps on all of that time, I looked and looked at other people's tents and made up my mind what I wanted.
By this time the children have all grown up into teenagers and no longer sleep in my tent.
Dh then bought me my perfect tent for my birthday a couple of years back.
I love it.
It is technically 6 berth but has one small two man bedroom just right for me on my own and then a big four person room that we use for if it is too sunny (ha!) or too wet outside.

I can almost erect it on my own-just need a tiddly bit of help at one point and can definitely take it down on my own.

Then the 'kids' each have a three man dome tent of their own and we have all of the other camping gear that needs storing and taking to camps-so I kept the trailer part of the trailer tent and keep/take everything in that!

I can be very 'sad' talking about tents!

Well, I hope it's normal because we've got 4 now. We got a cheapy family tent but soon realised that it was too low and too draughty so we got a Vango with a sewn-in groundsheet and lots of head-room. Then I was taking the dcs away just for one night with their school friends and didn't fancy trying to put up the six-berth just for that. I was in Tesco buying camping food and saw a little two-berth that was really cheap which I thought me and two dcs could squeeze into just for one night. It was ok but cramped and ds is growing like a weed so I've now picked up a 3-berth dome tent in the sales for our next overnight trip! It's great because I can put it up by myself in a few minutes, I tried it out in the garden .
Am not ruling out another tent (haven't told dh though!), because I wouldn't mind a few extra weekends away now we've found this lovely site by a sandy beach where you don't have to book. It's a pain putting up the Vango and dh refuses to use the non-groundsheet one again so....

I bought a humoungeous 12 beth tent on ebay and ....never actually got it out of its box. Ended up selling it at a car boot for more then I paid for it.

{WAVES} I could be in line for a big tent again as I am holding a clan meeting at our place later this year and could do with one to shove the younger/boistrous members in.